In the final step of its separation from former corporate parent, CBS, CBS Outdoor Americas – which includes CBS Outdoor Canada – has changed its name to Outfront Media.
Nick Arakgi, vice-president and general manager of the newly rechristened Outfront Media Canada in Toronto, said the name represents the company’s continued focus on progress and growth in the rapidly changing out-of-home sector.
“There’s a commitment to growth, an interest in innovation [and] a more aggressive attitude,” he said. “The company is very focused on out-of-home with a united passion for the future of our industry.”
Michele Erskine, director of marketing for Outfront Media Canada, told Marketing that the company would change the nameplate on most of its 12,000 faces in Canada (a list that includes 6,300 billboards, 5,500 street furniture faces, 35 digital boards and more than 400 large-format boards) within three months.
The CBS Outdoor Canada name has been in place since 2006, but Erskine isn’t concerned about losing any brand equity with the name change. “The new name is a better representation of who we are, what we do and where we intend to go,” she said.
Erskine called the name change a “unique opportunity” to bring a new media brand to market. “It was important to go out with a new name and brand that conveyed the right personality and attitude,” she said. “Outfront Media says it all – it promises a commitment to superior customer service, to innovation and to a leadership position within the marketplace.”
CBS Corporation sold a minority stake in CBS Outdoor Americas at the time of its March IPO, and divested the remaining 81% of the company in June. CBS had previously sold its out-of-home advertising businesses in Asia and Europe in 2013.
After the split, CBS Outdoor converted into a real estate investment trust, or REIT. Earlier this month, it expanded its operation by acquiring Van Wagner Communications’ billboard business, which includes 1,100 large-format billboards in 11 U.S. markets, for US$690 million.
The company also announced the introduction of a new consumer insight unit called Outfront Insiders, as well as a new in-house creative boutique called Outfront Studio.
The new company will be reintroduced online at OutfrontMedia.com on Nov. 20, and will trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “OUT.”
